Instant Hot Chocolate Mix

Instant Hot Chocolate Mix - topped with homemade maple whipped cream and caramel sauce

My son drinks a lot of hot chocolate and since the K-cups for the Keurig machine aren't particularly cheap, I decided it was time to figure out how to make a mix that would do the same thing, taste better and be a LOT cheaper.  I also had enough interest in my posting for instant chai mix that it warranted an encore of sorts so I thought this would kill two birds with one stone.

How does it taste?  I'll let my son do the honors, and this is a direct quote from him when he tasted it the first time, "Holy crap Dad - this stuff is REALLY good.".  An eloquent man of few words, my son.

He then had two more cups.

That's how I always know that I have a winner.

Ingredients

• 2 cups nonfat dry milk powder 
• 1/2 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
• 2 cups vanilla sugar  (plain sugar is just fine - vanilla sugar will simply give a bit of extra flavor)
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa (I use the dark chocolate cocoa - whatever you prefer will work)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice (optional)

This is a 32 oz jar. You can see this recipe makes enough to fill
the jar. If you'd like more it can easily be doubled (or tripled!).

Directions

1. Pour all ingredients into a food processor
2. Blend until mixture is the consistency of fine powder  (you can skip this step and simply mix by hand, but it will dissolve better if you take the time to do it)
3. Top with whipped cream or mini-marshmallows

To serve: Stir two or three tablespoons of the hot chocolate mixture (depending upon taste) into a mug of hot water. If you prefer an even creamier consistency, you can add hot milk instead of water.